Coconut banana bread, who knew? I had many doubts about this one as I was making it and AGAIN messed up with something egg-related (see Cocoa Banana Yogurt Muffins for another egg near miss) but but in the end, it turned out great and was also immensely popular.
The recipe called for sweetened coconut, so Dave volunteered to go pick it up while I got started on the dry ingredients. I used whole wheat white flour instead of all purpose, and whisked that together with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The recipe didn’t actually have salt in it, but the reviews indicated that it would be an improvement, so I put in half a teaspoon. I also added some cinnamon & nutmeg to give the bread more flavor.
Next, I mashed up the bananas. I had 3 left, so I used ‘em all, then added brown sugar and vanilla.
I mixed that together, added oil and mixed some more, then added the dry ingredients to the mixture.
Once that was mixed, I added the Greek yogurt and orange juice, and the batter went from lumpy to smooth.
As I was adding the milk for a less dense bread (as recommended in the recipe), I realized that AGAIN I had forgotten eggs. Three egg whites, to be precise. What was it with me and eggs that day? I added the egg whites and mixed, mindful of the danger in overmixing. I wished I’d remembered them before the flour was in there, but I was clearly having some sort of egg amnesia that day.
Last thing to go in was the coconut. The recipe said to use sweetened coconut, but Dave had called me from the store with the coconut in his hand and read me the list of ingredients on the package, and there were a lot of things I’d never heard of, all of which were chemicals. The unsweetened coconut had one ingredient: coconut. In it went.
I mixed that in, and poured it into a loaf pan. I was supposed to sprinkle some coconut on top, but since I’d read that some people felt this needed a bit of a flavor boost, I mixed the coconut with some turbinado sugar.
I sprinkled that as evenly as I could across the top of the loaf.
I baked for about 50 minutes, and it was ready. I started checking it at 40, and kept having to reset the timer for a few minutes until I was satisfied with the texture. I let it cool in the pan for about 10 or 15 minutes, then gave it some time to cool on the rack before digging in.
It was pretty good that night, but it went from good to delicious the next morning. Flavorful, dense in just the right way, filling and substantial without being heavy, and sweet.
I had this for breakfast, but it makes for an excellent afternoon snack or post-dinner dessert. And it’s only 3 P+ per serving if you can manage slicing off a mere 1/12th of it at a time. Good luck with that one.
COCONUT BANANA BREAD RECIPE (original)
My version of Coconut Banana Bread (adapted from fitsugar)
(serves 12)
ingredients:
1 3/4 cup whole wheat white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 Large ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 (scant) cup of brown sugar
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons 1% milk
1/4 cup low fat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice
1-2 teaspoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees, and spray or grease a 9 x 5” loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In another bowl, mash up the bananas. Add the brown sugar and vanilla, and stir until well mixed. Add egg whites — don’t have egg amnesia! — and stir until smooth. Next add oil, and stir again.
Slowly add in flour and combine until incorporated. Add the Greek yogurt and orange juice, and then the milk. Mix.
Finally, add the half cup of coconut and mix together.
In a small bowl, mix two tablespoons of coconut with one to two teaspoons of turbinado sugar, just eyeball it.
Pour the batter into greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle the coconut/sugar mixture across the top.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and the bread is golden brown. Let it cool in the pan for another 10-15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Eat!
Speak Your Mind